Intra-oral Scanner Active Delete Tool for Artifact Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing intra-oral scanning devices require manual and time-consuming deletion of unwanted items like fingers, lips, and dental instruments from scanned data, which can be frustrating and may impact the integrity of the scan.
Innovation Solution
An active delete tool is implemented that automatically detects and deletes unwanted items during the scanning process using line-of-sight deletion and immediate deletion mechanisms, enhancing the user experience by reducing manual intervention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual deletion of unwanted items is performed after scanning, then complete removal of artifacts is possible, but time consumption and user frustration increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary identification and deletion of unwanted items during the scanning process itself, rather than requiring post-scan manual deletion. The active delete tool continuously monitors captured images and removes artifacts before the scan is complete, thereby eliminating the time-consuming manual deletion step while maintaining reliable artifact removal.
Solution Approach 2:
The scanning system automatically identifies and deletes unwanted items without requiring user intervention. The active delete tool autonomously analyzes captured images, identifies artifacts such as fingers, lips, and instruments, and removes them from the point cloud data structure, allowing the system to serve itself rather than requiring manual user action.
2Reliability
If manual deletion of unwanted items is performed, then artifacts can be removed, but risk of impacting scan integrity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically performs artifact deletion with built-in safeguards that preserve scan integrity. The active delete tool uses image analysis and point cloud processing to intelligently distinguish between unwanted artifacts and legitimate anatomical features, automatically removing only the artifacts while preserving the integrity of the desired scan data without requiring manual user intervention that could cause errors.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides visual feedback to the user by displaying highlighted representations of identified unwanted items before deletion. This allows the user to verify that the correct artifacts are being targeted for removal, providing a safety mechanism that prevents accidental deletion of important scan data while maintaining automated deletion capability.
3Loss of time
If automated active delete tool is implemented, then deletion time is reduced to near-zero, but system complexity and processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces manual mechanical deletion operations with automated computational processing. Instead of requiring users to manually navigate and delete artifacts, the active delete tool uses image processing algorithms and point cloud analysis to automatically identify and remove unwanted items, substituting computational automation for manual mechanical interaction and thereby reducing deletion time to near-zero while managing complexity through software-based solutions.
Data Source
AI summary
An intra-oral scanning device and system are augmented to provide an active delete (or filter) tool. The tool automatically detects and deletes unwanted items and artifacts capturing as the scan is being done. The technique provides a better user experience by automatically removing items the deletion of which that may otherwise be time-consuming, frustrating, or impossible for the user to delete any other way.